OOTS #1225 - The Discussion Thread

[Emanick]

That sounds like a terrible idea. Have these social scientists not heard of abusive parents? If people don't want kids, let them not have kids.

Forcing people who don't want kids to have kids is one thing; encouraging people to have children by making the experience easier is something altogether different. I was looking at a series of charts yesterday that showed that roughly half of (American) adults (excluding those who said their family was "still growing") have fewer children than they want to. Granted, having one child rather than two is not the same thing as having no children rather than one, but many of the same reasons apply in both cases.

It's tough to talk too much about this without risking a brush with the no-politics rule, but speaking generally, it would be nice if society found a way to lower the financial costs associated with being a parent. I'm not too concerned that doing so would lead to a surge in abusive parents; it's much more likely that it would lead to more numerous, stabler, and happier families. There are downsides, too, but I'm not sure I can talk about them without getting too close to bending the no-politics rule.